Fall?

Hmmm - doesn't seem like Fall at all - it's so beautiful. We had 30 Celsius a couple days this week - broke records for the Fraser Valley/Lower Mainland. Took the day off.

Well, that was a couple of days ago and I'm feeling MUCH BETTER for having done so. I needed a mental break from that crazy place called "work".

This is my favourite time of year to walk in the woods. Picture #1 Sunset at Willband. Note the crystal clear sky!
















Another favourite place to walk is along Fraser River.
















Heading back to work today. Not really looking forward to it, and yet I'm ready to head back to my coworkers - they make it worth my time there. I enjoy the work as well ... the statistics, the details, the people. That's what keeps me there. Well, that and the MONEY! And the BENEFITS. You can't put a price on that.

Learning how to deal with difficult people and to take my emotions out of difficult situations or challenging issues is a hard lesson to learn. I need time to put my newfound knowledge to practice!

"Suntanning"

Yep - suntanning is coming along nicely now. And I AM indeed beginning to develop a slightly tanned colour to my skin. 6 down 14 to go. Rather interesting to be left in a concrete-encased room by myself while the techs run out to "protect" themselves because it's not "safe" for them in the room! Of course, they do this all day long so they do need to protect themselves. For me, as the patient, it's just the right amount of radiation to kill of any undetected cancer cells along with all my healthy ones which will regenerate themselves but the cancer cells can't.

I'll be happy when it's over. Then on to the hormone therapy which is another hurdle in my mind!

I am starting to feel really tired. Today it hit me rather hard, like a wall. But it's fine. I'll get over it. Plan is to do the board meeting on Sunday, then work the week, then take the rest of my vacation, sick time and on to short-term disability until the new year. That's what I'd like to do. I hope I can work it out with my employer.

I'm exhausted. But happy it's the weekend.

Harvest & Radiation Treatments

First, a pic of my beautiful 7 cm across vine-ripened tomatoes which grew from a SEED in the COMPOST which I put on the front flower bed. I saw the little seedling growing and thought, "Ah, why not let it grow and see if it manages to produce even one tomato?" And here we have already eaten 3 large ones, gives one to mom & dad and there are 6 more large ones hanging here - it's just a joy to see them there - and there are a couple more very large and gangly tomato plants in the same flower bed which are producing these little 1" wonders, sweet and yummy and just perfect for snacking when watering the garden!



Then I decided to go around the side of the house and see how my beans are doing. I need to pick them but am so tired that I just don't have the energy to do so.



And then there are my precious quince:



They need to ripen just a tad more - until they are uniformly yellow - then they're ready. And we've been having such wonderfully warm weather that both the tomatoes and the quince are just LOVING it! And the beans too.

The rest of the "garden" is not picture-worthy. We're working on that back fence/retaining wall/flower bed thing that we've dreamed up to provide us just a little bit more privacy from our nosy neighbours! It's a work in progress. Ralph is taking 3 days off work (last vacation days for the year) during which he'll work on the bricks. Then we'll have to find someone to bring in topsoil and the trees. We want to put cedar hedging in there but I don't want the puny little trees, we'll pay a good penny for the more mature trees so that we have an instant privacy fence. A living, green-year-round wall! Yay! I can hardly wait. Should have done this right from the beginning. Oh well ... live and learn.

And so, on to the treatment phase of my breast cancer. I'm still working full-time which is starting to wear me out and I really, really don't want to be working at all. But that's not reasonable! Today I just got so tired. Partly because of some family-related stressful issues which have since been resolved. And partly just from the stress of the treatments, knowing what's happening in my body. Wondering if this is working. Thinking about how I'll feel once I start on the Tamoxifen and not really wanting to do that either! Is it worth taking the pills for 5 years to give myself another 7.5% reduction in chance of recurrence, bringing it to about 7.5% that it will come back in the same breast or the other breast? Well, I suppose it is when you look at the long-range picture.

I STILL DON'T LIKE IT THOUGH!!!! ARGH!

One more week of heavy-duty work, board meeting next Sunday, then a couple more days of work after that to "clean up". Then I'm thinking of taking a few weeks off on sick leave. I just don't know how I'm going to feel, you know? How will I feel in 2 weeks after daily radiation? They say most patients begin to feel fatigue to some degree. Why should I slog my way through work if I don't have to? I just ask myself these questions and don't have an answer yet.

That being said, the process of the radiation treatments is quite fascinating. I actually enjoy going there - brand-new hospital, brand-new best-there-is equipment throughout. The tech told me Friday that most of the workers there are young and energetic and wanted to be there because of the new equipment and wanted to learn how to operate it all. It's nice to know that they're working with the best technology there is! I must say it's rather weird to be lying there in this concrete-walled room (you don't see the concrete of course, but nevertheless you know you're in a "safe" environment; "safe" for everyone else but me!!!) and that radiation warning light, you know the symbol comes on and you just KNOW that you're being zapped at that moment and wonder if you're being fried from the inside out or what!!!!

Anyway, I'll be fine as time goes by. It's all a learning experience for me. At least I have a schedule for the week ahead so that I know when my sessions will be and can plan my life around them.

Treatment Plan

First, a picture of my freshly coloured "big" hair from a week ago! Hilarious! It was a beautiful sunny and hot afternoon and I enjoyed my time outdoors. Not so the last few days - it's been cool and tonight it should RAIN and only reach something like 13 Celsius tomorrow - crazy! Back to sun and warmth for the weekend, though so that's a good thing!

I'm so happy - I DO NOT need to do chemotherapy! Such a relief. I can handle the radiation and the oncologist is recommending 5 years on Tamoxifen so I'll do that as well. I start daily radiation treatments on Thursday this week and continue to October 7th. EVERY DAY - wow. I went through the planning session already, had the CT scan done and have my little mould for my upper body and my 3 little tattoos for the radiation therapy. I bought the proper skin cream and deodorant and the cotton bra which I hate because it's not underwire! Ah, the "challenge" of radiation therapy - should be "fun" in a way. I look forward to seeing the same people each time I go in, or at least some of the same people.

That's been the one great thing of this experience - the fact that I've met some of the nicest people. Everyone's been wonderful and just so helpful and kind and caring. No one has ever said, "it's not that bad" or "stop complaining" (not that I've been complaining!) but you know, no one has ever said that it could be worse and I'm "lucky". "Fortunate" has been thrown around a litle, but not in the way that I'm silly for feeling any emotion at all!

So, the next step is just ahead in a matter of 2 days and I look forward to getting that under way. I had to get 3 stitches put in 2 weeks ago because the wound just was NOT healing. It has now, though so I'm a happy camper! I just need a lot of vitamin E to get it to heal up really nicely. We will see!!!!

Not much else to report at the moment. Life goes on and things are good.

Still Healing

My incision is still draining albeit much slower now and not really blood anymore. But what a hassle and pain in the butt! I'll be so happy when everything's dried up and I can move on to the treatment phase of this whole experience. Tomorrow to the oncologist.

Had a wonderful time with Andrea and fam - a pic of the coast here which we just love. Wish I could go there more often. Will have to make another trip yet before the end of the summer/start of winter.

I'm worried for my brother and family who are living at the foot of the mountain which is on fire right now. They're on evacuation alert right now. I dearly hope they don't have to move out - praying for them, for sure.

Busy day planned for today with some shopping, some cooking and another visit with mom and dad to hopefully help them begin to downsize some of their belongings and thereby reduce the anxiety of "what should we do with all our stuff?" Hope it will be somewhat helpful.

Vacation/Healing

Ah, finally my incision is completely closed up with no further drainage. Last night was the last time I put a fresh dressing on. This morning, absolutely nothing and it is bonded together now. What a dip in the boob, though. Sick! I am curious to see how it all heals up in the next few weeks and months. Will it fill in somewhat? Will it just remain a strange shape that it now is? Or will it fill in somewhat with fatty tissue? I have an appointment with the oncologist on Monday. I can't wait to go because I'll have more questions answered including the final lab results as to the hormone receptors and the HER2 gene. Those results I don't know about yet and of course right now it's not going to make a hoot of difference since I have to wait 6 weeks post surgery anyway to begin radiation treatments. Maybe they will only recommend hormone therapy? And will I gain weight when I do that? Will they still want to do chemotherapy anyway? All these questions I need to have answered and hopefully will on Monday. I don't plan to go to work on Monday. My appointment is at 8:45 - early.

At the moment we are in Oregon enjoying some R & R, visiting with Andrea and family, playing games, watching movies. Today we drove to Tualatin area to a specific shopping area because it has a Whole Foods. Here's an aisle, with Ralph poking around - he enjoying searching the aisles as much as we did because the products are all so unique.

I spent quite a bit there. Then we walked across and had lunch at the Macaroni Grill - yum! Delish Italian food - a couple of pics of course!

The healing process is a very lengthy one, it turns out. Had a frightening experience with drainage from the incision while at Camp Hope, by myself, with no one there to help me ... suffice to say it was not pleasant and it really freaked me out. Obviously, I'm still okay. Went to the surgeon twice since the surgery. He is happy with the progress. His response, "I wasn't going to go in there a third time!" when I asked him how I managed to get so bruised!

I'm having to still apply a dressing twice a day but hoping that in a week's time or so things will be healed up enough to no longer have to do that. I'm on two weeks off from work and we managed to get to Banff/Canmore for 3 nights. On the 2nd day I got really sick - in this picture I'm smiling but I'm feeling really, really lousy with yet another head cold - the third one since January. Not good. I need to have a few months off work and just take care of myself, I think.

I have an appt with the oncologist on the 24th - can't wait to see what he has to say about my prognosis and recommended treatment!

Anyway, back to our little vacation - it was so nice to be a tourist for a little while. The hotel was really nice. We enjoyed the peace and quiet of Canmore - there were no sirens, we heard nothing from any of the other guests in the hotel and didn't have to listen to anyone else talking than each other! It was lovely! It rained at the end of our day at Banff but not before we were able to fit in a couple of sightseeing things.

Even though it was only 2 whole days, and 2 driving, it felt like a long time actually because we weren't interrupted by other people talking, etc.

Off to Andrea's in a couple of days to do some shopping, movie watching and general vistation!